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This Is My Father’s World

This is my Father’s world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas–
His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world:
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world:
He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass,
He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father’s world:
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let earth be glad!

Written by Maltbie D. Babcock, 1901
Music by Franklin L. Sheppard, 1915 (based on a traditional English tune)

“Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”Romans 1:19 – 20

This world can really seem messed up when we look around. Take a look at the evening news and you will see what I am talking about. It seems that most, if not all of the stories are about something going wrong. War, murder, crime, famine, disease and more. These are what we are so often presented with. Why should it then surprise us when people do not believe that there is any hope out there.

But when we take an honest look at the world around us, we can begin to see something different. We see majestic mountains. We see the beautiful colors of the fall foliage. We hear the sweet song of birds in the early morning hours.

As we look at the incredible existence of this world we are struck by the incredible balance of our world in the cosmos. A world that is kept in balance. It sits close enough to the sun to provide warmth for life, but it sits far enough away to not burn up. It contains all that is needed for life. The seasons flow from one to another without fail.

When we look a the inhabitants of this world, we may see the problems that are listed, but we also begin to see compassion for one another. With this deeper look, we begin to see not just the ugliness, but a beauty that comes from it’s creator.

This is the message found in “This is My Father’s World.” The world in it’s beauty and majesty stands forth as evidence that God is in control. As Paul wrote in Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

Yes, at first look we seem to see the ugliness stand out as though it was the norm, but as Babcock writes, “O let me ne’er forget, that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.”

So I choose not to simply see the ugliness of the world, but to be moved with compassion for a world crying out for it’s creator. And so, I declare, “This is my Father’s world: why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King; let the heavens ring! God reigns; let the earth be glad!”